Christopher J. Kent

Partner

Chris Kent is a founding partner of Cassidy Levy Kent (Canada) LLP and is consistently recognized as one of the pre-eminent international trade lawyers in Canada. Chris has been involved in a significant number of the highest profile trade matters in Canada and the United States in industries including softwood lumber, steel, appliances, sugar, energy and high technology. He provides advice and representation across the spectrum of trade litigation, trade regulation and trade policy matters, including antidumping/countervailing duties, safeguards, export/import controls, sanctions, controlled goods under Canada’s Defence Production Act, customs, WTO, NAFTA, AIT and other trade treaties, on behalf of clients ranging from corporations to trade associations to governments. Chris also regularly advises and represents clients on government procurement issues and disputes. He is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer on international trade issues and is currently a Vice-Chair of the International Bar Association’s International Trade and Customs Committee.

In trade litigation matters, Chris has an extensive record of appearances before binational dispute resolution panels under the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal and Federal Court, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, the Canada Border Services Agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. International Trade Commission, as well as several core legal working groups in WTO disputes.

In the field of competition law, Chris is the co-author of the Canadian Competition Law Handbook, published by Carswell in 1997, as he served as a sessional lecturer at Queen’s University between 1998 and 2002. He provides advice across the range of issues under Canada’s Competition Act and has represented clients in merger reviews and other matters involving the Competition Bureau and in judicial proceedings.

Honors and Awards

Recognized by Chambers Global: The Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a “Tier 1″ lawyer in the field of International Trade, 2008-2014

Recommended by The Best of the Best: Top 25 international lawyers worldwide, 2014

Recognized among Canada’s Leading Lawyers in International Trade Law by Legal 500, 2014

Identified by LEXPERT as a Leading International Trade Lawyer in Canada and leading U.S. Canada Cross-Border Litigation Lawyer

Recognized by the Euromoney Guide to the World’s Leading International Trade Lawyers as a Leading International Trade Lawyer in Canada

Recommended by The Best Lawyers in Canada as a Leading International Trade Lawyer in Canada

Recent Speaking Engagements

Speaker “Export Controls: What In-House and Outside Counsel Should Know for 2012”, New York State Bar Association Corporate Counsel Section and International Section – Committees on Corporate Counsel and International Trade, The Customs and International Trade Bar Association and the Dennis J. Block Center for the Study of International Business Law at Brooklyn Law School, December, 2011